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Poisonous
Poisonous is the first story written for the Niha series, and describes Toa Niha's first encounter with Makuta Erevayx. Story Niha left the Matoran village with a sense of completion and pride, satisfied that the area was devoid of any criminal activity. It had been quiet and peaceful, the sun just above the horizon, giving everything a golden appearance. As she passed the watchtowers, she gave a wave to the guards situated inside of them. They waved back cheerily. She followed the dirt road into a shady forest, ready to leave the small island. She was about halfway along the forest trail when she saw something that made her look twice. The small form of an Onu-Matoran lay lifeless on the ground, bright red blood surrounding it, contrasting deeply with the lush green grass. Niha rushed over to the body, looking for signs of life. She went to check his pulse only to find that the portion of chest where his heart should have been was mutilated beyond recognition. The gaping wound was flooded with blood, and – what was that? Niha thought, her pulse escalating. Alongside the blood was some sort of thick, greenish substance that stank heavily of infection. “Poison,” Niha spat, using her Heads-Up-Display (HUD) to confirm it. She looked around, searching for the source of the carnage. She stood up, and gave a quick start when she heard a sharp, sinister voice. “Hello, dear! I hope you don't mind the—erm—mess. I was just ridding the world of a couple of miscreants.” Two? Niha whipped around to see a red-and-lime-clad being holding a helpless Ga-Matoran high above his own head. The Matoran wasn't screaming; only writhing, and even that was a small movement now. She paled when she saw that the killer's claws protruded from the Matoran's back. Her fear was then replaced by anger and disgust. “Put her down! Now!” she shouted. The Makuta granted her wish, and flicked his wrist. The dead body of the Ga-Matoran skidded across the ground, stopping about four meters to Niha's right. “Command obeyed,” the Makuta sneered. “You, little Toa, are a bit too confident for my taste. Perhaps, after I shed some light on my identity, you won't be so quick to yell at me.” He groaned, seeming to be in some sort of pain. “I should tell the Toa, right?” he said to himself, but strangely, he allowed it to carry over to Niha. “Yes, I should tell the Toa.” Was he insane? Niha thought it seemed so. He spoke again. “Would you fear me if I said I was responsible for the destruction of the island of Veli?” Niha was confused at first, but then a sickening realisation dawned on her face. He was the Makuta all of the Order wanted dead. He had become the most wanted being of the Order ever since the Makuta of Metru Nui was killed. She took a closer look at the Makuta, and saw the many cancerous tumors decorating his torso, the rusty, decaying armor protecting many of them. This confirmed the being's claim. "Yes, it is I, the great Makuta Erevayx. As I stated before, I destroyed the entire island of Veli, along with its many Matoran inhabitants. Their deaths were—how do I put this?—''most'' enjoyable." Niha unsheathed her sword, its short, thick blade lightly brushing the ground. She swallowed her fear again, and spoke. "You kill without reason, Makuta. You have caused the deaths of many Matoran, Toa, and others, I'm sure. It's time for your life to end." Niha rolled forward, leapt into the air, and landed with a kick to Erevayx's face. The action only subdued the Makuta for a second or two, but those seconds helped. When she hit the ground, Niha immediately made a sweeping kick at Erevayx's legs, knocking him over. Niha stood up, pointing her sword at the fallen Makuta's startled face. "Come quietly, or your death might not be as quick," Niha said triumphantly. Erevayx only sneered. "Oh, I'll come quietly if you like," he said smugly, and disappeared. Niha looked around, but the Makuta was nowhere to be seen. "Makuta!" Niha shouted, "Show yourself!" But he didn't. Niha tried to shout again, but she couldn't hear her words. Niha could feel her words vibrate inside her throat, but she couldn't hear them. The world was completely quiet, and she didn't know why. Niha felt an impact, and was knocked to the ground. Everything made noise again, and she heard herself hit the forest floor. "I told you I would 'come quietly'. Maybe you should think twice before knocking over a Makuta, fool," Erevayx chuckled. As Niha struggled to rise, the Makuta let out a roar so loud the trees shook. It was the infamous power scream that was capable of shattering most minds. Thankfully for Niha, she was an android, and it didn't affect her as much as it would have if she was a real Toa. The pain was still real, though. The force of the scream knocked her off the ground again, and this time, she was slow to get up. Erevayx used this to his advantage and teleported over her. He pulled out a long, gnarled sword, and kicked at Niha, diminishing her attempt to right herself. He bent over and picked her up by her hair with ease. "You are quite the rebelious one, I see. We'll take care of that soon enough." He threw her to the ground, and Niha shouted in pain as the impact pushed all of the air out of her lungs. "Time to die, little Toa," said the Makuta. He brought the sword down, attempting to cleave Niha in two. The Toa was fast, though. She brought her blade up to meet the Makuta's, the clang! of the impact resounding throughout the forest. Niha's arms wobbled dangerously as she struggled against Erevayx's superior strength. "You're only delaying the inevitable, you fool!" the Makuta spat, frustrated. Niha didn't have the strength to say one of her usual witty remarks. She was focused solely on pushing Erevayx's sword away from her body so that she would be able to rise to her feet. Using her last reserves of strength, she shoved the Makuta's sword high enough to rise, but it came with a cost. Erevayx was able to get a slash at her thigh with his acid-covered claws, drawing blood. That wasn't the end of it, though. The acid began to eat at her inner workings, and she smelled her circuitry sparking and fizzing. Her leg screamed with pain, but Niha knew that if she was going to live, she would have to keep fighting. "Ah, you're not a real Toa, are you? You're a robot! How interesting," the Makuta laughed. The words almost stung more than the acid eating away at her armor, but she charged nevertheless, activating her wrist-mounted lasers. She aimed at the Makuta's eyes, and he howled in pain, swinging his arms. One of them caught her in the stomach, and his claws dug in deep, injecting more acid. Her vision swam, pain trying to overtake her. Erevayx threw her to the ground once again, and Niha heard a loud crack! come from her left shoulder. She didn't have the strength to rise again. She was born as a fake, green Toa, and she would die as a fake, green Toa. Too bad. Suddenly, all of the air was swept from her lungs. She couldn't breathe! Niha grasped at her throat even though she knew it wouldn't help. Erevayx laughed and hackled. He was obviously a maniac. "I don't think you've done enough reasearch on Makuta, you puny fake Toa," he said. "You should read up on every Kraata power availiable to me. This one in particular, is quite...satisfying. Vacuum. I can bend the air to my will. I could force air into your lungs—should I call them lungs? They're not real, are they?—or, as I am doing right now, I can take air out of any certain area." Niha wouldn't answer if she could. She opened her mouth, trying to take a gulp of air. She couldn't. He was walking towards her. If he would get a little closer, she'd be able to hack at him. Maybe that would make him relinquish his hold over the vacuum. Closer, closer... "Normally, creating a vacuum around someone would shrivel them up immediately. But seeing that you're not actually a real living being, you're an...exception." Now! She swung her sword randomly at Erevayx, striking a tube at his side. He yelled as a strange greenish black energy sprayed from his armor. He turned to Niha, pain in his voice. "I'll be back! I will, I'll hunt you down!" With that, he teleported away. Niha took a gasp of air, and collapsed, unconscious. ---- Niha was lying on a cold metal table when she woke up. Her friend Tanreaa was there, as well as her mentor, Mersery. Niha's whole body ached, but the burning sensation of the acid she had felt earlier was long gone. She must have been found by some Order members before it was too late. "Where am I?" Niha asked, already thinking she knew the answer. Tanreaa answered her. "You're back at headquarters." Niha nodded. She figured that that was where she was. "Are you alright?" Her Vahki friend asked. Niha sat up on the table. "Yeah. I guess so." Niha looked around. "How'd you find me?" "We implanted a tracker in your body when you first came to the Order," Mersery said. "When you're in mortal danger, it tells us. You're lucky you survived. Who attacked you?" he asked. "Erevayx." Tanreaa gasped. Mersery only nodded. Niha continued. "I had just finished my job, and I was heading to the shore when I saw him killing two Matoran. I fought him, but he got me with his acid." "How did you get away?" Tanreaa asked. "I punctured his antidermis tubes. He got scared, and he left." There was a few moments of silence. It was Mersery who broke the silence. "Niha, I'm sure you need some rest. How about you and Tanreaa go off to your room, and sleep." "That sounds nice," Niha sighed, relieved. That night was the last peaceful night she would have for several months. Erevayx wasn't the only threat out there, and now that Niha had proven herself in combat, she would be a field agent for the Order. Niha's adventures began. Characters *Niha *Erevayx *Tanreaa *Mersery *An Onu-Matoran *A Ga-Matoran Category:Logan Woerner Category:Stories